Pitt, West Virginia, agree to four more years of the Backyard Brawl

The excitement for the return of the Backyard Brawl to reignite Pitt' footballs rivalry with West Virginia has made the upcoming season opener for both teams on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Heinz Field a major event. The two schools had played 104 times over the years while being less than 77 miles from each other and sharing a conference in the Big East from 1991-2011. But they hadn't played each other since the Mountaineers left the Big East, and an agreement to set up a four-year series from 2022-2025 was welcomed on both sides.

But on Wednesday, both sides came together again to agree to an additional four year slate of games between the two football programs:

After a three-year break, the series will resume for another four years of games between the two programs, meaning Pitt and West Virginia will meet eight times over the next eleven seasons.

“Passionate rivalry games like the Backyard Brawl make college football special,” Director of Athletics Heather Lyke said. “The extension of this series is exciting to announce given our programs’ shared history and geography. It’s a rivalry that resonates throughout the region and across the country. That will certainly be on display when we renew ties this September at Heinz Field in front of a national television audience.”

Pitt currently leads the rivalry with a 61-40-3 over West Virginia across 104 meetings that stem back to the first game in 1895. The two home-and-home series will reopen the rivalry for fans, alumni and students who haven't experienced a clash between the two football programs in over a decade.

Also on Wednesday, West Virginia landed a big-name quarterback in the Transfer Portal in the form of J.T. Daniels from Georgia:

Daniels was a five-star recruit to Georgia in 2018 who became a starter as a freshman but fell behind in the depth chart to eventually be a backup on Georgia 2021 national championship team. He brings two years of eligibility with him, just like Pitt's new quarterback out of the Transfer Portal from USC in Kedon Slovis.

Pitt has a chance to end West Virginia's three-game win streak over the Panthers that stretched between 2009-2011, and doing so with a team coming off the program's first ever ACC Championship with several starters returning. Pat Narduzzi coached Pitt to its first eleven-win season since 1981, and his first season with more than eight wins over his seven years as head coach for Pitt.

Meanwhile West Virginia will enter Heinz Field in Sept. coming off 6-7 record from Neal Brown's third season as head coach. The Mountaineers have averaged 5.6 wins per season under Brown.